Screaming kids… we have all had to deal with them in some way or another, whether it was in a restaurant, baby-sitting, or maybe even your own kids. We all know they get annoying after a while. Imagine this, it is 100 degrees outside and eight o’clock in the morning and all of a sudden 20 screaming kids come running towards you and all of them want to jump on you. Sounds like a perfect way to spend the summer, right? Being a tennis instructor for a kid’s camp is not exactly how I picture my summer, but we all have to make sacrifices at some point. The days seemed to drag on, and the weeks seemed even longer. There was a set routine for everyday. We started out at the flagpole, went to ply tennis, and then had lunch and free time.
To
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start of the day, we would all go and stand around the flagpole in the middle of the field. We started out with introductions; then we would move into warm up exercises. The first thing we did we was stretch and next were jumping jacks. First of all, the camp leader would let the kids choose how many jumping jacks we would do. Kids being kids would say something like 100 jumping jacks and then they never actually wanted to that many. After a warm up, we would all make a circle around the flagpole, and one kid would be chosen to lead the pledge. Since some kids are more vocal than others, the kid to shout the loudest would always be chosen to recite the pledge. Due to the fact that some of the kids at this camp were four years old, they did not know the Pledge of Allegiance extremely well. Somehow the four year olds would always get chosen to lead the pledge because they could scream the loudest. After we got done at the flagpole, the kids would be split into groups and go to the different activities such as golf, swim, or tennis. When most kids see a pool, all they want to do is go jump in; so when a group of kids heard they were going to tennis first, they complained.
The complaining continued for the next two and a half hours. Once we got down to the courts, none of the kids wanted to play tennis. All they wanted to do was throw the tennis balls around, and they would also try to throw the ball at other kids. In addition, none of the kids listened. If I told a kid to stop throwing the balls around, he or she would give me a confused look and got right back to what he or she was doing. Next came the complaints of “I am too hot” or “It is too hot to be outside.” Even thought it was hot outside, at this point they were just complaining to try and avoid having to do anything. On the rare occasion that I could get the kids to actually come and hit, they would never want to pick the balls up. I had to offer a prize to the person who picked up the most balls in order to get them to do anything. Even then there were still kids who did not pick up any. For example, there was one girl who said she would not pick any balls up because she was going to “leave the dirty work to the boys.” The next question was always “when is my group going to swim?” In order to get them to be quiet I always had to tell them they were going to go swimming next even if they were not. Needless to see these kids were not the least bit thrilled about being at …show more content…
tennis. After all the golf, swimming, and tennis it was finally lunch time. This meant the kids were occupied, and I got a break. However before we would sit down, we had to give the kids their food which was always much more complicated than it should have been. Somehow the kitchen would always mess up the orders, and the kids would complain saying they did not order that. It would usually calm down a bit after 20 minutes of “where is my food,” “I do not want that,” and “I need ketchup.” Then after 3 hours, I would finally get to sit down, but it did not last long. Since kids eat smaller meals, they would always be done quickly; as a result, the complaining would begin again. This time all they wanted to know was how much longer until they could go swimming. No matter how many times you told them that they needed to wait 30 minutes after they ate, they would always pester me about when they could go. Since it was free time after lunch, the kids always wanted me to go swimming with them. Even when I did not have a bathing suit, they splashed me and tried to pull me into the water. The countdown until two o’clock begins.
The hour before the kids leave was always the longest because I had to get the kids ready to go. Since they were kids, they were constantly loosing things, and they also needed help changing out of their bathing suits. Helping the kids change was always the worst because they were all wet, and they could never seem to do anything by themselves. You would think that by the time a kid was six or seven he or she would have learned how to change his or her won clothes, but I guess not. After the kids were all changed, it was ice cream time. Ice cream time was a similar situation to lunch because there were only certain amounts of either chocolate or vanilla. The worst was the day we only had five chocolates, and hardly any of the kids wanted to eat the vanilla. There were a lot of upset kids this day. Thankfully it was right before they left, so we did not have to listen to them too long. Then it finally came the time the kids got to go home which was the best part of the day because I meant I got to go home too. After we got the kids all lined up and ready to go, their parents came and got them, so the only thing we had left to do was clean
up. Screaming kids, how weather, and early mornings were not the west way to spend my summer. The days seemed to go by slowly, and the weeks dragged on. It seemed like these kids had never heard the word “no” before which made my job more difficult because they would never listen. The tennis portion of the day was always the worst, and it was the part that lasted the longest. After having about 60 kids complaining week after week, I can say that I never plan on working at a kid’s camp again.
In a growing trend that reaches to all corners of the athletic world, coaches are being forced to cope with the added stress of disgruntled parents. More and more they are required to defend personal coaching styles and philosophies, uphold team decisions and go head to head with angry, and sometimes violent parents. The pressure has gotten to the point where coaches all over the country are quitting or being forced out of their jobs by groups of parents. High school athletics should be about learning and having fun, and when parents cross the line between cheerleader and ringleader everyone suffers.
The amount of unnecessary behavior by parents at youth sporting events is increasing rapidly and is ruining the kid's experiences and their passion for the sports. Parents in the United States are becoming more involved in their children's sports than the kids themselves. The reason that so many young American athletes are quitting at such an early age is because their parents are making the sports a joyless experience and are placing too much pressure on the kids to win and to be the best. Parents have become out of control at youth sports and it seems that the kids are showing more civility than the parents these days. Parents need to get back to teaching their kids that sports should be played for fun and not just for showing who's the best.
I got dressed like normal, and got a partner and started bumping the volleyball like yesterday. But what changed today was that we were going to the high school. When we got to the high school the same routine happened. Also today, some people got cut from the team. When they started calling people off I would hear a few names that sounded like Jalyn but were luckily not mine. After the list was over, the coach bursted out,” Everyone that was called please go to the side so the coaches can talk to you, “Then she softly whispered to us,” You guys have made it past the first set of cuts.” We all started cheering but was quickly got hushed down by the coach with her brief, yet informative hand gestures. When we got on the bus, the ones that made it sympathetically apologized to the people that got cut on the bus ride home but when we got back everyone that made it gathered in a circle and
Kidman, Lynn, McKenzie, Alex and Brigid. "The nature of target parents' comments during youth sport Competitions." Journal of Sport Behavior 98:1 (March 1999): 54-68.
High school coaches been sworn at called names and physically threatened by parents before,during, and after the games. Playing time is often at the root of the problem though sometimes a parent is outraged that their son or daughter isn’t being played at what the parent thinks is their child’s best position (Nolan). In addition, equal playing time is important because it developed every player skills.(Nicole). Take, for instance, the case of a young player who has never played for a club before. He’s 11 and charges around the place without being able to control the ball or kick. Many of his teammates didn’t think he should play for their team but the coach has been working with him and one day he wanted to let him play and believe it or not he did very well for his first game that he even made a goal for the team (David). The best thing to do whenever you’re in a sport is that the coaches
Lauer L., Gould D., Roman N., Pierce M. (2010). Parental Behaviors That Affect Junior Tennis Player Development. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11, 487-496.
Some of these students are star athletes and recreation becomes the primary factor in their lives. It has been set into their minds when they were young by their parents and piers. Early in their lives the child is taught the importance of being the best and nothing else matters. The school system now comes to realize how important this athlete has become to the school team and grades are given to keep the student on the team, and problems are just pushed aside.
Everyone agrees that parent involvement is a good thing. But when the parent behaves inappropriately, it creates a poor environment for the children to learn and enjoy themselves. "Sideline rage" with parents behaving badly at youth sports events is such an epidemic, that 76% of respondents from 60 high school athletic associations said increased spectator interference is causing many officials to quit (Associated Press, 6/3/01). Parents are supposed to be role models, and the lessons they teach will determine their values and actions in the future. These days violence in children's sports is not limited to the playing field; overbearing parents are creating dangerous situations on the field.
Remember the days where the kids used to holler and run in the park, and swing in playgrounds on nice summer afternoons while the parents sat on benches. Maybe they had a soccer lesson after and played a basketball match with friends at YMCA. But today, kids run with sports gear to tournaments conducted by "elite" Little Leagues, while the parents who drove all over town to find the stadium settle down into the bleachers ready to observe every move their kid makes in the game. And of course, they share their complaints to other fellow parents about the coach, who is getting paid half of their paycheck. After a gruesome match on a field that is way too big for the kids, the parents provide some Greek Yogurt and ample of suggestions on how to
Sport Management: Burnout and Early Specialization Every year there are a number of children who withdraw from participating in youth sports. While countless leave sports to pursue other interests, a significant number detest their experience in sport. From the intense practices to pressure-filled competitions, young athletes can feel a considerable amount of stress. If this stress remains for an extended period of time, children experience “burnout” and lose their desire to continue playing.
Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
For the past five years I have been fortunate enough to have a job as a tennis instructor for the Scituate Youth Center. The Scituate Youth Center is a non-profit organization that offers various sports clinics and programs to anyone between the ages of four and seventeen. It has been around for over 40 years, and currently has over 2000 kids participating in its programs. Each program is run by primarily high school and college aged individuals under the guidance of the head athletic director. The members of the executive board for this organization are all unpaid volunteers that are responsible for the facilitation of the programs, and ultimately are the main reason why the organization has had such a large impact on the community.
My love for tennis blossomed at the young age of eleven. During middle school my peers knew me as the boy who was remarkably talented at tennis and I savored that title. Butterflies floated throughout my youthful body whenever someone complimented me. As the years passed, my dad nurtured me into a top player. Before I knew it high school arrived and it was time to compete at a higher level. My excitement was out of this world, but I knew my dad could no longer push me forward and my future was up to me. However, the ego I developed over the years blocked what lie in front of me. I wasn’t looking at the bigger picture; the hard work demanded of me, teamwork, and the motivation to reach an ultimate goal. Throughout my four years of participating
Looking back on a childhood filled with events and memories, I find it rather difficult to pick on that leaves me with the fabled “warm and fuzzy feelings.” As the daughter of an Air Force Major, I had the pleasure of traveling across America in many moving trips. I have visited the monstrous trees of the Sequoia National Forest, stood on the edge of the Grande Canyon and have jumped on the beds at Caesar’s Palace in Lake Tahoe. However, I have discovered that when reflecting on my childhood, it is not the trips that come to mind, instead there are details from everyday doings; a deck of cards, a silver bank or an ice cream flavor.
Last year I was able to work with a group to teach others about issues dealing with the children of today. I was approached by a group to put on an eight-hour seminar that concerns children. No one was sure what they wanted except that it would be with a church group that had a day care that operated during the day. I decided to take on the project and began to do my research.